How could they spend the overall No. 11 draft pick on an unproven kid who rated no higher than second-team all league in Conference USA?

Should the hulking nose tackle rise to stardom, however, and the Chiefs could be headed for their toughest defense since Marty Schottenheimer’s brawny squads of the mid-1990s. He’ll give them what they’ve lacked most in their 3-4 alignment — a powerful presence in the center trenches, a magnet for double teams who frees secondary defenders to flow to the ball, a disruptive creator of up-the-middle passer pressure.

During last year’s injury-plagued campaign, the Chiefs ranked 12th overall in scoring defense in finishing the season at 7-9.

This year, the return of Pro Bowl safety Eric Berry from ACL surgery is sure to pump new vitality into the entire unit. Tackles Tyson Jackson and Glenn Dorsey are still young enough to improve, and second-year defenders Allen Bailey and Justin Houston are showing good promise. Plus, Pro Bowl linebacker Derrick Jackson is squarely within his physical prime.

But the biggest hope for meaningful improvement rests squarely on the back of a rookie who managed a meager 22 tackles and one sack his entire senior season at Memphis.

In three years, Poe’s stats were an unimpressive 101 tackles, five sacks, four forced fumbles and four pass breakups.

Mike DuBose, Memphis’ defensive line coach and co-defensive coordinator, blamed poor coaching for Poe’s lack of production, saying he was never used right.

It’s not an excuse Poe seems to embrace.

“I think it’s DuBose being DuBose,” he said. “Like I said, there’s not too much for me to say about that. Whatever they told me to do, I did.”

Crennel is keeping a close eye as the Chiefs begin their first workouts in pads.

“I want to see that he is a dominant football player, that he can force double-teams and stay at the line of scrimmage against double teams, and that he is able to push the pocket on a pass rush,” Crennel said. “If he can do some of those things, that will be a plus for us.”

At 6-foot-3 and 346 pounds, Poe has the size. He has the strength. Judging from his early showing in camp, he also has the desire. What he does not have is the technique. In early drills, he’s looked good at times and bad at times, getting knocked off the ball badly on one play.

Camp opened with journeyman Anthony Toribio running first team ahead of Poe, who insists he has no desire to prove his doubters wrong.

“I play football. That’s what I’m here to do,” he said. “Whatever my coaches tell me to do, I’m guessing that’ll be the best thing for me. So for me to just listen to people and say I’m ready to this or do that because they said something, that’d be wrong on me. I’m just here to work my hardest and do the best I can.”

He is obviously coming in for extra attention at every practice.

“They just stay on me,” Poe said. “They make sure I’m being a technician first. They tell me I’ve got a lot of ability but it will be nothing without the hard work and the technique. So they’re staying on me every day about that.

“You’ve got to be a man to play inside. Everybody knows that,” he added. “You’ve got to have a mean streak in you, but most people think you just go wild and tear things up but you’ve got to be technical. In every technique you’ve got to know how to use your hands. So that’s what I’m trying to do out here.”

Crennel has hinted he will be disappointed if Poe does not quickly take charge of the nose tackle job. But he’s also trying hard not to rush anything.

“He’s got good ability, good size and good work ethic,” he said. “So now we’ll see where that takes him.”

CHIEFS SIGN LB EDGAR JONES

The Chiefs have signed linebacker Edgar Jones and placed defensive back Kyle McCarthy on injured reserve.

Jones was with Baltimore the previous five seasons and saw action as both a linebacker and tight end.

McCarthy signed with Kansas City in February after two years in Denver. He injured his knee in practice Saturday.

CHIEFS CARAVAN COMING TO TOPEKA

The Kansas City Chiefs caravan celebrating 50 years in Kansas City will come to Topeka from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 28.

Hall of Fame greats Len Dawson and Bobby Bell will be at Hy-Vee, 2951 S.W. Wanamaker, to sign autographs and take photos.

“We are extremely proud to have called Kansas City home for 50 years,” said Clark Hunt, team chairman and CEO. “Kansas City is the ‘home of the Chiefs,’ but our following extends far beyond the city limits. In honor of our fans across the region, we’re going to take our celebration on the road, traveling around the area to say ‘thank you’ to all who have supported us over the years.”

The first 200 people will receive a pass to get autographs and all fans will get the opportunity to take a photo with the Lombardi Trophy from the Cheifs’ win in Super Bowl IV.

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While I do not agree with the rationale, the pick is based upon foolish Mel Kiper BS. Mel loved this kid because he had a fast 40 time at the Combine. He is big dude close to 350 and he ran just under 4.9. That is the raw potential they are talking about.

While I get that 4.9 at that size is off the chart, I absolutely hate the internet hype given to such stats by stats geeks.

To me, the more telling facts are what he did with that size and speed and the reality is he did not do very much with it. Second team conference in BS football conference. 1 sack with that speed is very poor. I think he only had 3 or 4 sacks in his entire college career. You would have thought he would have fallen on QB and got more than that.

I get the coaching up concept. But, to me, that is more of translation from high school to college and the coaching up part of it is very real at that level. Look at the smaller schools like KSU, Boise State, TCU, and even Utah that take 2 or 3 star recruits and coach them up. But, I do not think this concept applies in the NFL. The NFL is less about coaching then putting fast and big players on the field and letting them do their thing. The draw back to the NFL approach is when you have a big and fast kid that is not giving full effort or just does not have it. Bryce Brown comes to mind as big and fast kid that did not get it.

In other words, you had better look at the kid’s effort and his heart. And, doorknobs like Mel Kiper and the other stats nerds do not even know what that means.....

The thing that gets me is much less riskier pick that would have done the same thing for them was picked with the very next pick.

"Come see a piece of ancient history, a 40 year old Super Bowl Trophy"... - Well, hells-to-the-yeah. It was only the fourth one ever played. The Chiefs won it... and I watched it with my Father... maybe when you're a bit older you'll begin to appreciate the history of the things you enjoy. I hope so, for your sake. I, for one, would be honored to see it up close and personal and, I'd hope, have my picture taken with it.